Toronto 2012: Midnight Madness, Discovery, TIFF Docs, Vanguard

2 September, 2012

More Toronto world premieres including genre anthology The ABCs of Death [pictured].

Midnight Madness

The ABCs Of Death (US-NZ)

Dirs various

In this ambitious anthology film, 25 leading genre directors - including Ben Wheatley, Jorge Michel Grau, Noboru Iguchi and Adam Wingard - and one, Lee Hardcastle, who won an online competition, were each given a letter to inspire a short of around five minutes, centred on a tale of mortality. The result is a 26-chapter compendium of horror.

Contact Magnolia Pictures - international@magpictures.com

Aftershock (US)

Dir Nicolas Lopez

A US tourist’s vacation in Chile turns into a hellish ordeal when he picks the wrong night to visit an underground nightclub. After an earthquake, he and fellow hedonists fight their way to the surface where further chaos awaits them. Horror film-maker Eli Roth, who co-wrote the screenplay, dips back into acting alongside Selena Gomez.

Contact FilmNation - info@wearefilmnation.com

The Bay (US)

Dir Barry Levinson

Levinson returns with a mock-documentary chiller. The Bay, which has been described as an eco-horror film, is set in a small seaside town in Maryland that becomes a breeding ground for parasites. Lionsgate is the US distributor.

Contact IM Global - jonathan_deckter@imglobalfilm.com

Come Out And Play (Mex)

Dir Makinov

Originally titled Child’s Play, Makinov’s remake of the 1976 Spanish horror Who Can Kill A Child? stars Vinessa Shaw, Daniel Gimenez Cacho and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and focuses on a young couple expecting their first baby who must escape from an island overrun by killer children.

Contact US: Cinetic Media - sales@cineticmedia.com

Dredd 3D (US-UK-Ind)

Dir Pete Travis

A 3D reboot of 2000ad comic-book character Judge Dredd, Travis’ film sees Karl Urban don the iconic helmet to take on Lena Headey’s drug empress Ma-Ma. Dredd 3D received strong acclaim out of its recent Comic-Con screening, and Travis won the Discovery Award at Toronto with Omagh in 2004.

The Lords Of Salem (US-UK-Can)

Dir Rob Zombie

Few recent horror directors have carved such a disturbing oeuvre as the former hard rocker, and Zombie’s new offering promises to stay true to form. When a radio DJ plays a mysterious record, it resurrects the town of Salem’s vicious past and threatens to usher in a vengeful force - or is the DJ going mad?

No One Lives (US)

Dir Ryuhei Kitamura

A kidnapping goes horribly wrong after a criminal gang imprison a young couple in an isolated house and the girl dies. But the bandits discover their latest victims are not what they seem, and the dying continues. Kitamura’s credits include Midnight Meat Train. The cast features Luke Evans and Adelaide Clemens from the upcoming Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.

Discovery

Blackbird (Can)

Dir Jason Buxton

The feature debut of Buxton, Blackbird is the story of a troubled teen who is falsely accused of planning a high-school shooting. Connor Jessup stars alongside Michael Buie, Alex Ozerov and Alexia Fast.

Contact Films Boutique - info@filmsboutique.com

Blancanieves (Sp-Fr)

Dir Pablo Berger

Maribel Verdu, Macarena Garcia and Daniel Gimenez Cacho star in this black-and-white homage to silent cinema, set among the bullfighting community of 1920s Spain. Berger previously directed Torremolinos 73.

Contact Marina Fuentes, Dreamcatchers/6Sales - marina@6sales.es

The Brass Teapot (US)

Dir Ramaa Mosley

This darkly funny satire adapted from a comic-book series stars Juno Temple and Michael Angarano as a broke young couple who find a teapot that magically dispenses cash when they feel pain.

Satellite Boy (Aus)

Dir Catriona McKenzie

This debut feature is an uplifting drama about a 12-year-old Aboriginal boy who journies through the bush to stop city developers from demolishing his grandfather’s home. Ivan Sen collaborator David Jowsey produces.

Contact Celluloid Dreams - celluloid-dreams.com

Wasteland (UK)

Dir Rowan Athale

Athale, a 2011 Screen Star of Tomorrow, makes his feature directorial debut with this heist tale described as Ocean’s Eleven set on a council estate in northern England. Luke Treadaway, Iwan Rheon, Matthew Lewis and Gerard Kearns star.

Contact Bankside Films - bankside-films.com

TIFF Docs

9.79* (UK)

Dir Daniel Gordon

An investigation into the 1988 Olympic men’s 100m race that ended in disgrace for sprinter Ben Johnson.

Contact VeryMuchSo - dan@verymuchso.co.uk

Artifact (US)

Dir Bartholomew Cubbins

Thirty Seconds To Mars and the band’s lead singer Jared Leto battle their record label while recording their album This Is War.

Contact US: CAA - filmsales@caa.com

A World Not Ours (UK-Leb-Den)

Dir Mahdi Fleifel

A study of belonging, friendship and family in the Ain El Helweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

Contact Nakba Filmworks - patrick@nakbafilmworks.com

The Act Of Killing (Den-Nor-UK)

Dir Joshua Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer’s surreal cinematic journey sees former members of Indonesian death-squads challenged to dramatise their role in genocide.

Contact Cinephil - info@cinephil.il

As If We Were Catching A Cobra (Syr)

Dir Hala Alabdalla

A documentary examining how comic books and caricatures are becoming a vehicle for dissent in the Arab World.

Contact Wide Management - infos@widemanagement.com

Fidai (Fr-Alg-Kuwait-Qatar-Chi-Ger)

Dir Damien Ounouri

A portrait of El Hadi, a 70-year-old former fighter for Algerian independence.

Contact Kafard Films - matmullier@kafardfilms.fr

First Comes Love (US)

Dir Nina Davenport

New York film-maker Davenport chronicles her quest to have a child as a single mother over 40 years of age.

Contact nina.davenport@gmail.com

How To Make Money Selling Drugs (US)

Dir Matthew Cooke

A satirical look at getting rich in the shadow economy, featuring interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem and The Wire producer David Simon. Produced by Bert Marcus.

Contact Bert Marcus - bert@bertmarcus.com

Iceberg Slim: Portrait Of A Pimp (US)

Dir Jorge Hinojosa

A stylish portrait of legendary pimp and author Iceberg Slim. Interviewees include Chris Rock and Ice-T

Contact US: UTA - IndependentFilmGroup@unitedtalent.com

Lunarcy! (Can)

Dir Simon Ennis

A disparate group of dreamers and schemers share one thing in common: they have devoted their lives to the Moon.

Contact Global Screen - sonia.mehandjiyska@globalscreen.de

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God (US)

Dir Alex Gibney

Taxi To The Dark Side director Gibney explores the issue of paedophilia in the Catholic Church.

Contact Content Media Corp - london@contentmediacorp.com

No Place On Earth (US-UK-Ger)

Dir Janet Tobias

The story of five Jewish families who survived the Second World War by living in caves for 18 months.

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